Open Thread: Democrats Struggle to Decide Whose Money to Take

We already know that the punitive tax hikes on a small number of wealthy individuals favored by liberals will do almost nothing to pay off the national debt. What we didn't know is just how divided Democrats are as to who will get the shocking tax increases.

The Hill reports today that congressional Democrats can't agree on who should be targeted to pay more in taxes, those families making $250,000 or more or those making more than that. The prolonged debate (most of which hasn't been too public) reveals just how much of a political game the whole thing is:

Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) doubling down on a $1 million threshold for extending the Bush-era tax rates has re-launched the thorny Democratic debate over who should pay higher taxes. [...]

The budget drawn up by House Democrats earlier this year also included the $250,000 threshold.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has long backed cutting off the tax breaks at $1 million, conceded Pelosi’s move — intended to push back at Republicans —is just the latest step in the party's ongoing search for an effective tax-messaging strategy ahead of November's elections. [...]

That the strategy remains undecided becomes clear with a simple survey of Senate Democrats.

Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Jack Reed (R.I.) told The Hill Thursday that Democrats should continue to follow the president's lead at $250,000. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) noted that, as a member of the Budget Committee, he'd backed a 2011 plan to adopt a $500,000 cut-off for single taxpayers.

Isn't it nice that people's lives are being toyed with in order for Democrats to come up with just the right political optics?

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